I’m probably the most lapsed catholic that I know but I have to say that I find some of the responses in this thread crap beyond belief. I had thought, for years, that sectarianism was a problem that existed in the central belt and was largely absent here. I wonder how I got this so wrong, so:
“Oh dear, grown men on a night out using swear words. I won't be losing any sleep over it”.
So is a clear statement of sectarian hate acceptable? If it’s not acceptable to sing this in the middle of Glasgow on a Saturday night, it’s not acceptable anywhere. Using the expression “F**k the Pope” is, by definition, sectarian. If you said it at a football match, you would be prosecuted under the OFBA.
“It's not the smartest thing that has been done, but because it has been videos and published somewhere some drunken 'humour has been deemed to be sectarian. There's worse being said at play school”
This is wrong in its entirety. It is clearly sectarian and the very opposite is taught in schools.
The deleted post by “Gadgie Coff” was gone before I could screen grab it but it was stunningly poor to the extent that it was probably criminal in and of its self. There is a problem within the Catholic Church with inappropriate sexual behaviour but the assertions in that post were inaccurate and exaggerated. Those of you who saw it will make your own minds up about that.
“Racism is prejudice against people for what they are, and is many levels more serious than religious bigotry”
Wrong. Both are equally serious in the eyes of the Law and both have been at the root of untold misery- ask people in Northern Ireland. Bigotry is bigotry is bigotry.
“Yes it did go over my head, so why wouldn't the same draconian exercise be undertaken when someone blasphemes the name of God or Christ rather than the Pope? who after all is a mortal man masquerading as the Vicar of Christ on earth”
By all means hold your view but does that really have to demean others? Masquerading implies deceit through appearance. It’s not, it’s simply a different way of expressing faith to yours.
“No one is defending it, as Christians we are taught to love our neighbour of whatever belief , Romanist, Muslim, Buddist but the comments of Bdu 98196 displays all the prejudices of the Roman inquisition. If no one accepts guilt you are all guilty, all must atone, no appeals. That said, why should anyone have respect to the Pope who has usurped the place of Christ. who says to followers of the Roman sect "come out of her my people that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues" Rev18:4.Note: MY people. Roman Catholics are MY brethren and I have many RC friends whom I hope to convert to the true path before this life is done”.
By implication, you do not recognise Catholics as Christian and given the rest of your post I can understand why. The office of the inquisition was abolished in the 18th Century and to be honest you simply use the kind of exceptionalist arguments that they would have used against you. I wouldn’t ask you to respect the Pope, I’d ask you to respect everyone. By the way, Christ said nothing about Catholicism. His death predated and informed it. You are chronologically wrong.
“Acceptance by fans of religious hate crimes -really ? Tad hysterical don't you think”
No, for the reasons stated above.
“I agree completely with that, but it sits at odds with your previous post. Irish Catholics are hated in Scotland, not because of their religious choices, but because they belong to or were descended from a large group of migrant 'others'. That's where the parallel with racism comes in”
Are Irish Catholics hated in Scotland? Not in my part of it. Your history is wrong. Scotland was a largely Catholic Country until the reformation in the 16th Century. Only then did Protestantism become the dominant religion, got exported by Scots to Ulster and the rest is actual history.
I’m not a RC but I’m a Christian and I do understand that RCs may find the term FTP offensive but as Christians we have to turn the other cheek as Christ taught us. What annoys me is the faux outrage that goes on today as we live in a blame culture and there is always some do gooder wanting someone to be punished for minor issues. Maybe if we adopted what Jesus said when he caught a woman in adultery. He said to all the accusers who wanted her punished, He who is without sin cast the first stone. Maybe we should all think about this before we criticise”
Punishment? No, all I want is people to see that this tripe is unacceptable. Full stop, so I’ll criticise.
Sorry about the length of this but all this thread has done is tell me that there is a broad stripe of low grade sectarianism voiced here at the football club I have supported for years, some of it by people I genuinely thought knew better. My kids were brought up Catholic and one of them now teaches in a Catholic school. I know that they would be raging if they read some of the stuff here. I am on their behalf.
If you want dramatics, this is my last post here. I won’t be back.

Tell you what. If you had chanted in public that my sister was of dubious morality, I’d have been a damned sight ruder back to you than Liam Polworth was on Saturday on twitter. I’d have slaughtered you publically. For a guy who, according to weekly shouts from the stands and in these forums, doesn’t care and is downright lazy, it’s a common shout that has its origins in a pack mentality and precious little to do with reality. I’m lucky. I’ve been granted access to our players over the years in a capacity that has allowed me to see the reactions to success and failure close up and personal and Liam Polworth is a player who gives everything for this club. Not one of you saw the absolute roasting he was giving himself at half time for missing that penalty. He does that a lot and I’ve seen on here before that this is him “moaning” at others. Wrong, it’s at himself. I’ve heard it said frequently that he is lazy and drifts in and out of games, doesn’t track back and can’t place a pass. What is happening is that he has to hang back, look for the big picture and try the unexpected. That’s his role. It may or may not come off but look at his statistics – he’s created more in this team than any other midfielder in years. Those with short memories might like to look at the similar treatment Vigurs got when he was here. What both missed was a foil – a Tansey or Draper who would share the burden. Polworth doesn’t have that luxury. I’ve watched him go from possibly the quietest and least assertive lad in the dressing room to one who will now step up and represent his team when asked to. He is surprisingly vocal at times. A lot of this has coincided with his becoming a parent. He’s grown up.
However he’s grown up in an environment that is judgemental, unsupportive and is now becoming abusive despite him being one of the players at the club of genuine premier league quality. Why do you think St. Mirren are alleged to be interested? Brian Rice knows this boy, how he trains and performs , what his strengths are and the best way to enable him. No wonder they are interested. Rice knows that Polworth is a player, a performer whose confidence can be fragile. Nothing can destroy that confidence quicker than your own fans constant (and it is constant) criticism and now abuse from our own fans. What worries me most is the air of resigned disgust from some for this – it has gone beyond creating a siege mentality for the team and has become corrosive. I'm heartened to see the support from his boss and fellow players and fans that he is getting now. It's just a shame it had to come to this.
Liam Polworth can do nothing to alter this situation and if it was me, I’d make him captain for the game on Tuesday night, identify the people leading Saturday’s chants (it’s not difficult) and change it. The only people who can alter things in the stands, however, are the supporters; challenge the abusive ones, temper the criticism and maximise the encouragement. It’s called being a fan.

I think manfers apology for his language was magnanimous. what it doesn't need is a moderator to keep fuelling the fire. according to twitter, the club are looking at this, so action will hopefully be taken. let's leave it at that

Gary Warren was and continues to be a gentleman who will be missed when he departs. There is, as yet, no definitive statement that this has occurred (except from the P&J, who with the greatest of respect have occasionally got things wrong or reported prematurely in the past) and a load of twitter comment.
Gary was an excellent club captain who embraced the Highlands when he moved up here and that’s not always an easy thing to do. I remember him being the man to visit John Horne in Hospital after his stroke and John tells me he greeted him by name at every game he saw him at after that. That kind of behaviour counts. Even after the heaviest of defeats and at times when no other player could or would speak to the press he would be the one who stepped forward. This was a guy who was genuinely interested in what people who were associated with ICTFC thought and did. Every mascot who met him last year was left with the impression of a man who was genuinely pleased to meet them. On the pitch he was an absolute warrior, the kind of defender who could be relied upon to win his personal battles all over the pitch. In no small measure he was responsible for making Josh Meekings the player he was, allowing him the footballing role whilst he did the defending. My only disappointment is for the man, not because of him. If anyone deserved that Scottish Cup final and a winner’s medal it was him and yet he celebrated for his team like a madman despite not playing that day. Look at the booking that ruled him out – defending.
On a personal level I will miss the big man. Always positive, always had time for you. I hope that, if the story about Yeovil is true, he enjoys his time there despite being a gashead. He deserves it.

I've got a spreadsheet! The nearest to you would be an overnight at the ibis hotel in Crewe on Tuesday 12th after coming up from the Severn Bridge. That day's itinerary is (gulp) Aust, Chepstow, Monmouth, Hereford, Ludlow, Shrewsbury, Wem, Whitchurch and Crewe. 130 miles, just about survivable. Next day is a mere 101 miles over the Pennines to Harrogate.

Good people of CTO, I have a favour to ask. In a couple of weeks’ time I will be doing a Lands End to John O’ Groats bike ride solo and unsupported. Its 1,000 miles and I’m going to try to do it in 8 days. That is a lot of work and yes, I’m doing to support a charity. This one is very close to my heart, The Smith-Magenis Foundation UK. Max, my grandson, has SMS and you have probably never heard of it. Well, you have now. It’s called Smith Magenis Syndrome (SMS) and it’s there because Max got born without a tiny bit of chromosome 17. It just happens in 1:25000 births, no cause, and no history. What you won't have heard of are the sleep disturbances (he doesn't) the meltdowns, the rubbish eyesight, the amazing ability to cause self-damage, the learning difficulties and all the rest. Max won't tell you about it either because he can't speak yet. He will let you know how much he loves you though at almost every opportunity. Hugs, hugs and more hugs. If you good people want to add to the £1200 or so that we have already raised towards our £2K target, you can go to https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/davidbalfour1
and put in whatever you can. Alternatively, I’ve got myself a new and unworn ICTFC home shirt which is signed by the first team squad and which ICTFC have generously donated. If you want it, please DM me on here with a bid. You know you want it and Max and I would be really grateful.

Maybe it’s time to put another tuppence worth in because the thread is getting a bit muddier and some of the other ones are going the same way. There are reasons that the old Board of Directors could not continue, all of them connected with the performance and accountability of that Board. They have all been stated in this forum. Not a single reason that I can identify was or is personal. The regulatory rules were unclear, the governance uncertain, there was little credibility left after two successive unsatisfactory AGM’s, no visible leadership and there appeared stasis in terms of activity and publicity. In that case, the entire Board should bear responsibility and if it is the wish of the people who attended and voted and this last EGM, resign. That is what happened. There is no personal dimension to this.
In terms of going forward, CJT needs strong leadership that is willing to put in the hard work and confront the issues. Supporters (at least in this forum) appear concerned about a long standing lack of communication by ICTFC, inconsistent policies and approach to young supporters, shortcomings in the matchday experience and the lack of a meaningful voice at a senior level within ICTFC. These are important issues. In my opinion, they need to be prioritised and addressed in sequence by an interim Board after the upcoming election. At least at that point CJT members will be able to have an informed debate about the way forward and who they want to take them in that direction. As an ex-Chair, I’d be happy to participate in that interim Board in any capacity except Chair.
At the moment, the only person showing any willingness to address the issues is Caley D and some of the criticism he’s presently attracting is grubby. His recent history of working for the club is something that should be used to CJT’s advantage, not as an object of scorn. He might well cause ructions in his way of putting his case but he has the tenacious character to front it up and take it on. He also might be able to contain any factionalism. He would make the Club take notice and for that I would support him.
At present, people know who Don is and most of you know who I am. I don’t hide behind an anonymous user name when putting my views forward. That isn’t the case with some others on here who appear to be taking an approach that damned the old Board but don’t really fancy the potential replacements that they imagine might be getting the nod as we speak. Heads up, there isn’t a big queue of people wanting this gig and I do think that with the technology at our disposal we can involve people living outside of the Highlands as Directors. So IHE, Kingsmills, Charles Bannerman, Caleyboy, Renegade etc. Stand for election and get involved in whatever capacity you can and influence what happens. It’s hard work but it is fun.

Johndo, as far as I am aware, the present SLO at the club is Kristine Fraser. It’s difficult to see what role she would have until the internal business is sorted out and CJT then have a legitimate basis with which to communicate with the club through the SLO. I know that Scotty has offered an equal platform to all to comment on this matter and it has been used by CJT and those wishing to affect change. It’s an open argument – there is no internalisation on my part – and it has nothing to do with people who are “trying to change the face of ICTFC” The signatories to the original requisition for a special general meeting are the ones using a public forum, CJT are choosing not to. I for one am happy to answer any questions that posters on here might have and I’m sure that Don would echo that – in fact we are the only ones who have explained matters. As for demanded confidentiality from Supporters Direct, if you look back at my posts I have quoted them as regards advice and comment supplied. Asked, they were happy to be quoted. If there is a continued silence from the present Board of Directors it is self-imposed. To end it, all they have to do is comply with a legitimate request from the membership, present their arguments in a special general meeting and either stand or fall by them.
Davie – my views only